US-backed Syrian forces attack Raqqa, breach Old Wall in efforts to retake Islamic State's de-facto capital

[caption id=“attachment_3774005” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] US-backed fighters pierced jihadist-held Raqqa from the south for the first time on Sunday, crossing the Euphrates River to enter a new part of the Syrian city. Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_3774011” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] The civilian toll stands at 200 from coalition raids on Raqqa since the US-backed SDF entered the city on 6 June. Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_3774017” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] The SDF has since seized a handful of neighbourhoods in the east and west but are facing fierce resistance by Isis as they push closer to the city centre. Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_3774021” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] The People’s Protection Unit is the home grown defense forces of the Kurdish area of Syria. It emerged after the Civil War erupted in Syria and started to spill over into Syrian Kurdistan, now known as Rojava, or Western Kurdistan. Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_3774027” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] There are 6.5 million people, including 2.8 million children, displaced within Syria, the biggest internally displaced population in the World. Reuters[/caption]